year-end gripes, and a dream

28 December 2013

parang not since the impeachment trial of erap 2000-2001 has the holiday break been so politically charged.

the outrageous hike in meralco bills continues to jolt especially because the supreme court’s 60-day TRO came too late for some customers who have already paid their december bills. energy regulatory commission, sleeping on the job? or just happy for the power industry that’s raking in such profits? vested interests maybe? bakit ngayon lang naisip yang bid price cap sa spot market? what’s going on? testing our limits?

and what about energy sec petilla’s resignation kuno for failing to fully restore electricity to yolanda-ravaged provinces… for a while there ka-excite-excite the prospect of petilla taking up the cudgels for oppressed electricity consumers vs power oligarchs, but that fizzled out soon enough, pa-cute lang pala, knowing full well that the president would not let him go? nakakainit ng ulo, nakakainis, to find that he’s just another traditional politico with a moist eye on the palace, or first the senate?

and what about the Tarlac Devt Corp, said to be the manager of Hacienda Luisita, bulldozing farmlands (that farmers have been farming for years), claiming that the land belongs to TADECO and not part of the Hacienda luisita area ordered distributed by the supreme court. ganoon? if it has long been farmed by the farmers who claim it, and they have papers showing no other claimants since, what claim does TADECO have on the land? sino bang may-ari niyang TADECO na yan? hindi ba ang mga cojuango rin na may-ari ng Hacienda Luisita? whatever, whoever, it’s a case that should be settled in court, according to the agrarian reform law, and not with bulldozing strong-arm tactics.

and what about the binay brouhaha aka dasmagate… as though the binays, like most politicos since forever, have not always behaved this way, what are they in power for, and all that jazz. what was unusual was that the security guards said no, and yet not one in media has told us with certitude that it was because they did not recognize the mayor (and why not? hindi sila taga-makati?), or they recognized him but weren’t told the rules re VIPs until after the incident. it would also help to know if this was the first time the mayor tried to exit through this gate before, or if he had done it countless times and never had a problem. come on, media, level up naman. and you might want to check out a rumor that dasma has opted to change security agencies anyway? i’d love to hear that it’s not true.

and speaking of binay the mayor, what about the hate campaign crackling on social media vs binay the veep, patriarch of an entrenched dynasty, who would (intends to) be prez in 2016. nakaka-freak out naman talaga the prospect of a binay presidency, with abigail in the lower house and nancy in the senate. kulang na lang, mga alipores sa judiciary. yari tayo, ika nga. from the frying pan into the fire.

unless, of course, tamaan ng nakaliliwanag na kidlat si jejomar binay, ala saul sa damascus, at ma-convert siya back to human rights advocacy, as in the days of marcos (before cory made him officer-in-charge of makati, what a plum prize). full circle. abigail, junjun, and nancy would resign out of delicadeza, and in support of their father’s new politics, anti-poverty, anti-corruption, anti-patronage, anti-status quo, pro-environment, for a change.

a pipe dream, yes, but if there’s one who could make it happen, it’s binay, if he only cared enough for this bayang sawi of ours.

hey baycas :) umm… i didn’t think much of dasmagate and had no idea katrina was being “eviscerated” in the comments section and on facebook. it was upon my advice that she wrote the second one, binay blues, just to make it clear she’s not writing PR for binay, haha. but since you ask, here are the links, for those who dont check out manila times’ opinion page every thursday and sunday, how’s that for a plug.
“Biases” http://manilatimes.net/biases/62448/
“Binay blues” http://manilatimes.net/binay-blues-2/63379/

It is perhaps a Hawaiian wave pipe dream for politicians to backtrack to their Mandela roots. Let that dasmagate remain closed then.

But going back to electricity, in the olden days, it was the price of bread that ruined kingdoms and empires. Today, it is electricity, what with the poor needing to charge their cell phone batteries at the neighborhood store, for a fee. Already the peasants in Hawaii are revolting at the idea that they can’t install a solar panel and sell power to the local utility at the same 37-cent price it charges (making PH at P15/kwh comparable).

I can imagine a scenario where Meralco can’t raise the price, and of course this means that the producers don’t get paid what they would like. Meralco, it seems, functions as a ‘tax’ collector for the producer sector. What then might give? The producers could shut down, and it would be a PR nightmare for the distributors (Meralco, etc.) and the regulators to explain why we would be back to ‘rolling’ brown outs in 2014.

The Executive has certain ’emergency power’ options including re-nationalizing the industry, especially the national grid, if only to ensure that producers do produce. Electricity now looks like a fruit stand. But do our public officials have the wherewithals?

“… the services of Right 8 is being cut short because one of the officers of Right 8, Ram Antonio, apologized to Mayor Binay and went on TV to say that the Mayor of Makati enjoys the courtesy of exiting from the Banyan Gate after 10 pm.

“The second reason, if true, is more intriguing. Although this will probably not be included in the formal notice of termination, it appears that some officers of DVA are unhappy with Right 8 because of the refusal of the guards manning the Banyan Gate at the time of the incident to be interviewed by a columnist of a major broadsheet who earlier wrote about the incident.”

A report of the Land Transportation and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) covering 2010-2011 on the most dangerous and accident-prone bus companies shows that this group of bus companies occupies the top spots in most categories.

Admiral Transport and Nova Auto Transport are the two most dangerous bus operators in terms of the number of deaths caused and injuries inflicted.

On the other hand, Don Mariano and Nova Auto Transport are the two most dangerous operators on the damage to property category.

Indeed, Don Mariano has been involved in several road accidents in recent years. In 2011, it was involved in three accidents resulting in two injuries and damage to properties. Last July 2012, a Don Mariano bus almost fell off the Edsa flyover in Ortigas, which damaged part of the rails and hurt eight passengers.

Admiral Transport was involved in two accidents in 2010, one resulted in a death and the other caused physical injuries.

Fermina Express had three road mishaps in the last three years, causing injuries in 2011, damage to property in 2012, and two counts of damage to property in 2013.

Indeed, with all these available data, my question is: Why are these bus companies still on the road? I cannot fathom what could have prevented the government from canceling or withdrawing these bus companies’ franchises to operate.